Mary Earps appeared on Fern Cotton's podcast, ‘Happy Place,’ for her first interview since retiring from international football, just months before the women's Euros this summer.
Earps has opened up about the hate and criticism she has faced since her announcement.
She helped England win the Euros and the final. She is the World Cup Golden Glove winner and championed Nike's release of a goalkeeper's kit that fans could buy.
She said, “I think that I was villainised in a way. It probably was a bit hard to see things and read them. It was challenging and painful.
“The girls were amazing. The way they had my back meant the absolute world to me. In the end, I feel it was the right decision. I felt almost relieved because it had been so long coming.”
“Mentally, physically, I was just like: ‘Right, I’ve given everything here.’ Maybe other people weren’t experiencing it the way I was experiencing it. I’m quite private; I keep everything and try to internalise and rationalise it. Maybe it was shocking to some people, but I think [that was because] we’ve been having those conversations behind closed doors.”
“I think I was villainised in a way that probably was a bit hard to see and read, but it’s more what my friends and family see. I’m upset for them because I’m like: ‘You didn’t choose this. You’ve got to deal with this now.’ That’s hard. But in the end, I feel like it was the right decision.”
Hannah Hampton, England's current number 1 goalkeeper, said: ‘First of all, we must respect her decision.
There's been quite a bit of scrutiny that she probably doesn't deserve, with everything she's achieved in the game and putting women's goalkeeping on the map for the younger generation. Goalkeeping was never really a thing, and Mary's changed that.’
Regarding reaching out to Earps, Hampton said: ‘I think I've done everything I need to do. I've sent her a text congratulating her on a successful international career, and I think that's all I can do.”
She was not the only one who received hate for this move, as Hannah Hampton, the current England number one keeper, also experienced hate and was blamed for Earp’s retirement.
She faced a lot of online hate and criticism, which stemmed from Earp's departure and their perceived preference for Earp to remain the number one goalkeeper.
She said: “It’s hard when you see fans not wanting you in goal, and not wanting you in the team. That’s hard.”
Add comment
Comments